New Data on Puerto Rican Migration to the States

A new report on migration for 2015 from the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute shows that people are still moving from the Island to the States in record numbers:

89 thousand people made the move in 2015.

The result was a net loss in population of 64 thousand people.

There was a net loss of 21 thousand college-educated people.

This is a larger number than the Great Exodus of 1945-60, during which Puerto Rico experienced a net loss of about 500,000 people. Between 2006 and 2015, Puerto Rico had a net loss of 445,000 people to the States.

The proportion of the population which was lost was greater in the Great Exodus, the report points out, since the total population was smaller. However, we are looking at nearly equal numbers in less than ten years, with no end to the newer exodus in sight.

Between 2014 and 2015, a change in the population appeared. The more recent migrants tend to be professionals, and are more likely to be college educated. We’ve written before about the exodus of doctors from Puerto Rico, but the new information shows that teachers are also leaving. The report estimates that between 1,800 and 4,500 of those who left Puerto Rico in 2015 were teachers. While this is a large range, even the smaller number is alarming.

Other careers showing a net loss in Puerto Rico during 2015:

computer scientists

mathematicians

engineers

lawyers

physical scientists

architects

artists

social workers

heath professionals and technicians

The states benefiting most from this population movement:

Florida

Texas

Pennsylvania

Ohio

Connecticutt

The report points out that there is a vicious circle going on here. As people leave, the economy becomes weaker and the quality of life less positive. This is turn causes more people to leave.